Sunday, August 23, 2009

A Photographic Investigation of the Caucasus, a testimony of a photographer who has spent time working and living in the Caucasus, covering this explosive region. Chalk Lines is a story of Petrol, Refugees and conflicts, focusing on Nagorno-Karabakh. It tells the story of this conflict from 1993- to this day between Azerbaijan and Armenia, this deeply unstable and fast-changing region of the world. Where oil is king and people pawns, visual information that gives an account of a on going war, and the hatred that fuels it.more interesting links to Stanley Greene:http://fragments.nl/Open Wound, Chechnya 1994 –2003 Stanley Greene talks about his experience of the Chechen resistance to Russian domination. Published by Trolley Books. Directed and Edited By Stephen J. Bell. Video - 3 PartsInterview: On the road to war - Chechenya 1992 - 1996An angry photographer in Chechnya (bbc.co.uk)In pictures: Chechnya: Open Wound

FRONTLINE CLUB GEORGIA

Frontline Georgia is a media club that aims to serve as a politically-neutral venue for journalists, public officials, students, intellectuals come together in a dialogue over media, social, political and cultural issues important for Georgia and the region. Frontline Georgia holds panel discussions, screenings, exhibitions, conferences and master classes.

Frontline Georgia’s mission is to contribute to quality journalism and exchange of views. Its Events Program will bring together the key players and thinkers in politics and the media and give a member an opportunity not only to hear from experts but to ask questions and contribute to the discussion in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

While there are other meeting places for important public discussions, Frontline Georgia is among the very few, where people from different ideological and political camps meet together. This neutrality has been one of the biggest achievements of the club, which operates in Georgia’s highly politicized and polarized social and media environment.

Ruth Olshan in her film portrays musicians who work with different approaches: a male choir searching and cultivating old folk songs in the Caucasus region, a female choir, a school dance company and musicians who enhance Georgian folk music. There is a common denominator that links the diverse protagonists in Olshan’s film: Singing, dancing and music are crucial elements of their lifestyle. Music is as important as “air to breath,” explains the director of the female choir . The subtle camera work discreetly catches moments and spontaneous encounters, showing that the rehearsals and the singing brings moments to these women where they are taken away from their normal course of life. For life in Rustavi, a small town near Tiflis, seems bleak. The industry is dead, the unemployment rate is enormous. You ask yourself how people can live. The choir women’s beauty and positive energy exude an affirmative sign of life, even in mournful moments. Men and women sing and dance both joy and sorrow off their chest. In Georgia, music seems to be omnipresent, almost existential. Even if a young singer does not think folk music is “sexy”, he still gets hooked. It gets under his skin. The film pays tribute to this fascination, vitality, and spiritedness.

IMPRESSUM

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